Pregnancy / Third Trimester

Excited to chat with you and share more pregnancy updates. I am currently 37.5 weeks as I am writing this but wanted to get this post up before baby came! Hope you enjoy these updates and if there is anything else you are dying to know, please leave me a comment on this blog post and I will be sure to answer in the comments below. Also, can you even with these photos of Lola?? Her eyes just melt me.

WEIGHT GAINEDAs of the start of week 37, I have gained 21 pounds.

HOW BIG IS BABYBy week 37, Baby is the size of a head of romaine lettuce. A little over 6 lbs!

BABY MOVEMENTThis baby is having a dance party on the inside. Of what I have read, movements start to get smaller because there is less room to be moving around but I feel like for me personally movements are bigger and more of them! Baby has been head down since week 18 and his little foot/leg has been kicking and pushing me on the left this whole time. It’s crazy how I can feel it. Getting alot of pressure and punches in my lady parts (sorry… TMI) but little man is making his own plans to break out of uterus jail. HA.

HOW I’M FEELING: PHYSICALLYHeartburn + Reflux: I have never really experienced the kind of heartburn and reflux that I have with pregnancy and my heart goes out to people that have to deal with these symptoms in their normal non-preggo lives. It’s funny because Blake actually has always struggled with reflux and now… I feel his pain. When you are pregnant a lot of your muscles start to relax because of all the hormones and heartburn and reflux can pop up out of nowhere. And HOLY CRAP. It’s bad.

I had started feeling burning in my throat over the beginning weeks in this trimester and everything hit the fan one night. I had eaten an early dinner at 6pm at a favorite mexican spot and enjoyed chips and salsa and then a simple dinner and was out for much of the night on my feet. That night I went to bed and work up at 2am feeling hot, sweaty, and sick…. And then I vomited like 7 times from the reflux. That whole night was sheer hell. The next day…. Equally hellish. I remember crying to Blake that if the whole third trimester was going to be like this… I don’t know how I would survive it.

Luckily I had a doctors appointment soon after that and now take pepcid extra strength 20 mg morning and night. It’s been literally saving me. I have still had some instances of reflux even taking the meds but it’s helping so much so I am incredibly grateful. Other things I do are eat an earlier dinner, avoid reflux trigger foods at night and never lay down after eating. Now at 37 weeks luckily these symptoms have slowed down for me.

Peeing my pants: Guys, still peeing my pants on the regular. Since the baby has dropped lower I have alot more pressure on my bladder and I have to hit the bathroom again constantly. Almost more so than the first trimester.

Hello Nausea: I feel like week 28 hit and the nausea was instantly back. Just when I thought I had left that nasty symptom in the past… it came back. Luckily the nausea is not 24/7 and comes and goes some days and not other days. At least I know to keep extra snacks and crackers with me and that’s been helping.

Fat foot: If you follow me on instagram… you know the story of “Fat Foot.” It’s the dead of Summer heat where I live and even the humidity is up. The last 2 weeks my one foot has been swelling the minute I start to be on my feet as well as going outside. It almost started happening out the blue. My one foot swells incredibly and the other does not. It’s super bizarre. I spoke to my doctor and she said that sometimes one foot can swell more than the other depending on the side of the body the baby is favoring. Honestly there isn’t much I can do about but I will tell you what I have been doing. When I can, I will wear compression socks around the house but honestly, it’s so hot I don’t do this that often. I also do ice water baths to help with the inflammation. I also elevate my feet whenever possible. So for now, I just have to make fun of my fat foot and do the best I can. I hear the swelling can last after delivery as well so hoping fat foot disappears sometime soon.

Exhaustion: The exhaustion is REAL in the third trimester. I feel like when it hits 4pm, I become utterly useless. Knowing my body just runs out of steam so much quicker, I try to really focus earlier in the day. Luckily, I have an amazing husband who pretty much makes dinner every night so that I can keep my feet up and rest most nights. I think the important thing is that I listen to my body and rest when I need it.

The Uncomfortable Stage: Basically at a certain point during the day, my body is just completely uncomfortable. With baby almost at max capacity pushing on all my organs… my body is just FULL. Not much room for anything. So I become increasingly uncomfortable as the day goes on and by the evening, I feel like baby is pushing up into my boobs and pushing down on my bladder all at the same time.

Braxton Hicks?: I could not tell you if I really had braxton hicks yet but I will say that I have had some pain centered in the lower part of my pelvis come and go. It’s hard to pin point what all these sensations, pains and aches really are since this is my first child. But I will say, things are happening.

HOW I’M FEELING: MENTALLYEveryone keeps asking me “How I am feeling??” “Are you ready?” “Are you anxious? Excited?” Basically it’s ALL OF THE ABOVE. I have been pretty upfront with you guys that the process of being pregnant isn’t always my favorite. Pregnancy is HARD WORK and once the third trimester rolls around, these last few weeks can be extra challenging. I am both ready to meet our little man TOMORROW! And also feel like, “OMG I NEED MORE TIME TO PREPARE!” It’s a huge mixed bag of emotions. But really, we are so ready to meet our little baby and I think the sheer will to just meet him will start to disappear any of the lingering anxiety that might be there.

I am not going to lie, Labor has been on my mind and it scare me going into this big unknown process. We did take prepared childbirth classes at the hospital so they did paint a bigger picture for the birth scenarios that can typically take place in the hospital. While some of these classes were a big alarming, I will say that I am someone fueled by information. So educating myself on the process was important in helping me to enter into labor with an open mind. People always ask if we have a birth plan and the answer is no. I know babies tend to have a plan of their own and especially after going through the fertility process… I have had to give up alot of control and put trust in the process. My only labor preference if I can make one is to have an epidural. That is really one of my only preferences at the moment. Bottom line is that whatever it is that gets my baby out safely and healthy, that is what I want to do. I have tremendous trust in my doctor and the hospital and I know they will guide me in the right direction for my baby. My personal philosophy will be to go with the flow. Now, this is easier said than done but my goal is that with this kind of mindset will get me through this wild experience. So while the nerves are going, so is the excitement. I am only putting out good vibes for a great labor, healthy baby, and happy mama. Everyone LOVES to try to tell me their horror stories but you know what, check your story at the door. Nothing but good vibes over here that I am putting out to the universe. At one of our last appointments… and this is going to be a bit graphic… but the doctor said, “Ooo I feel his head!”… HOLY FREAKING CRAP. It put things into perspective just how soon we are going to meet our baby!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like wow. Blake and I had this huge smile and amazement on our face. How did we get so lucky to make it to this point. So much gratitude is filling these last few weeks of pregnancy you have no idea.

FETAL DIAGNOSTICS APPOINTMENTSSince the doctors discovered my marginal cord insertion, I have been getting monthly growth ultrasounds to check in and make sure that baby’s growth is on track. Everything has been perfect so far so we are very grateful to be tracking this. In addition to this, we started going to fetal diagnostics at 35 weeks. This entails going to the hospital and having baby’s heart and movements monitored for 20-40 minutes 2x a week. I also have my fluids checked to make sure everything is looking good. It’s alot of extra time for doctors appointments but whatever it takes to keep an eye on our baby boy I would do in a heartbeat. It also ends up giving Blake and I peace of mind knowing baby is growing and looking good.

HOW I’M SLEEPINGI still sleep surprisingly well, all things considered. I wake up some nights to use the bathroom in the middle of the night but not every night. I do take unisom every night to help me sleep. My doctor suggested it when I was having troubles with restless sleeping and it’s REALLY helped me.

EXERCISEMy energy levels are much lower than they have been so I have not been getting to the gym as much this trimester. I do try to push myself to go walk for 30 minutes on the treadmill when I am up for it. I do still go to prenatal yoga once a week to continue and keep up with all my stretching and mindfulness practices. I continue to listen to my body and if I really don’t feel up to making it to the gym, I take time and rest. It’s so important that I listen to what my body needs.

CHALLENGESTying my shoes: Thank goodness that Blake can help to tie my shoes some days or take my shoes off. Basically things close to the floor are now dead to me. Hahahaha.

Full stomach: I barely have any room for dinner these days. I am just so full by the time dinner time rolls around so sometimes eating dinner is a big struggle. I try to really enjoy a bigger breakfast or lunch when my appetite and stomach allow for a bigger meal. We also try to eat dinner a bit on the earlier side as well.

Body slowing down: I think it’s hard to accept that my body has slowed down quite a bit in this last trimester. I try to push myself to my original limits but I just can’t do some of the things I used to do because I don’t have the energy, or I am physically just unable to do them. All of this is ok but it’s funny because you expect to be able to do certain things and it always comes to be a shock at first when you can’t. The heat has been finally getting to me and slowing me down big time. Thank goodness we have air conditioning so I can be home in my icebox while Blake tries to play thermostat wars with me. If you want to know how to anger a pregnant lady, just mess with her thermostat. YOU WILL LOSE. HA!

WHAT I’M WEARINGMost days if I am running errands or working at the house I am in gym or lounge clothes. Whatever is most comfortable. If I am getting dresses, I basically rotate through all my tank dresses. It’s what I am most comfortable. Since I am nearing the end of pregnancy, I have put a hold on buying anymore clothes. So I am mostly cycling through my favorite pieces that still fit. This includes dresses like this, this, this and this. I have also loved dressier pieces from naked wardrobe which are surprisingly lined pretty well.

JUST THE TWO OF US (plus Lola!)Blake and I have been making it a point to head to our favorite restaurants and just spend time doing some of the things we love just the two of us (or with Lola by our side!). Alot of my mom friends recommended we take advantage of this time and make date night a big priority. So we are doing that big time. We are also making sure to do some extra special things with Lola. Extra trips to the beach to sit and read our kindles. Enjoying our quiet time sleeping in and enjoying this special time before our family grows.

BABY PREPARATIONSOur nursery is ALMOST complete!!! We are just waiting on the dresser to arrive. Of course… it might arrive after baby but you know what, it’s no big deal. I organized everything that would go into the dresser into bins and we set up a folding table in it’s place temporarily so that we could set up our changing pad etc to still have everything ready. Can’t wait for the dresser to arrive so the we can complete the room and get some photos to share with you. The room is feeling so ZEN to me and I know baby boy is going to love it.

We finally set up our SNOO this weekend so I am SO excited to finally put this thing into action. Since we plan to have the baby in the bassinet in our bedroom, I have my night light set up on my nightstand already and we will have some baby goodies set up in our bedroom for those late night feedings and diaper changes. We also set up our baby monitor (which Blake picked out) as well as our little owlet. I am so all about all of this great tech baby stuff and have heard amazing reviews from some of my mama friends. So I will be excited to finally try them out myself and report back if they live up to the hype.

I am also in FULL ON nesting mode. I have been cleaning out my closet, going through my dresser drawers, and all out prepping as much as possible to get our house clean and organized for baby. Even Blake is nesting hard making sure we are organized.

Our hospital bags are finally packed! You can get a sneak peek of what we are packing here but I am shooting photos for my blog post this week so I hope to share that soon for all your mamas-to-be that have sent me questions asking what we are bringing. I am also still working on my registry post for you guys. Stay tuned.

WHATS NEXTBaby watch is in full effect. With less than 3 weeks till my due date who knows what could happen!! I continue to go to fetal monitoring 2x a week as well as my weekly doctors appointments from here on out. Basically we are just waiting to meet our little person and I can’t wait for the day I get to share him with the world. I can’t wait to meet you Baby Boy.

Ashley -This entire post makes me feel like you’re inside my head, reading my thoughts… I love how genuine and real you have been throughout your entire pregnancy! I am 33 weeks pregnant, and I sympathize with you on so many levels. For me, the acid reflux came out of nowhere and it is pure torture. I can eat dinner at 5pm and still feel sick at midnight/2am… Gross! Thank goodness for Zantac. I love how despite all these crazy symptoms, you feel as ready as you can. Wishing you an easy, peaceful and uneventful few more weeks before baby!ReplyCancel

August 13, 2018 - 12:32 pm

eat.sleep.wear.-The acid reflux is PURE HELL. No one should have to deal with that… it’s so so awful!!!!!

Thank you so much for all your kind thoughts Ashley and BEST OF LUCK with your own pregnancy. xoxo KimReplyCancel

August 13, 2018 - 1:28 pm

Rebecca -The acid reflux is AWFUL!!! I had it with both my pregnancies. I just had my second baby in July and I actually had to ask for tums WHILE I WAS PUSHING!!!! They made me lay down to push and I was like are you kidding me?! It took a couple weeks after delivery for it to go away this time but it will. Also, I had an epidural with both deliveries and I can honestly say I had really good experiences both times! I also hated hearing people’s horror stories so I always try to tell people, it might not be that bad!!! I had to be induced both times and delivered 2 babies that were over 9.5 lbs each and it was fine! Not a day at the spa, but fine! I think the best thing to do is trust your nurse and doctor and you will do great! Also you are right about the swelling after delivery, especially if you get an epidural. I had swelling in my feet for about 10 days after delivery just with all the extra fluid leaving your body. Anyway, good luck!!! You’ll do great!!!!ReplyCancel

August 13, 2018 - 5:56 pm

Emme -Can’t wait- have been following your journey for quite a while- I’m invested! I check in everyday for the “big” news- in my prayers- the experience will be amazing & wonderful. Just don’t be afraid- God bless you & your angel.ReplyCancel